Eye Tracking Problems

Eye-tracking problems are sometimes difficult for adults to notice in children. These problems may cause the child to have learning problems, which could be misdiagnosed by special education specialists. If you visit the behavioral optometrist in Fort Myers, he will help you know if the issues require optical care, vision therapy, or both. 

It is very important to see a vision therapist to diagnose the exact problems. Many vision issues with different therapies share many of the same symptoms. Even if you or your child seems to have many of the same symptoms listed below, make sure you visit the vision therapist in Fort Myers. There are many vision-related learning disabilities that can only be properly diagnosed by the behavioral optometrist at Fort Myers.

Common eye-tracking symptoms often include many of the following:

• Excessive head movement while doing close work like reading or writing
• Skipping or repeating lines of text, often losing place on a page
• Confusing words with each other, often by reading words out of sequence within a sentence or paragraph
• Omitting words while reading
• Using one’s finger to follow the text (But this alone is not necessarily a problem, especially for beginning readers.)
• Seemingly careless errors while writing, reading, or doing other close work
• Often seeming drowsy or tired following short periods of close work

Because of an inability to properly track text on a page, a child may have poor reading comprehension. The child may also have a short attention span and/or behavior problems because of an inability to keep track of close work; the child could be misdiagnosed as having ADHD.

Within other activities, eye tracking problems could include:

• An inability to follow a moving object such as a ball
• Problems with looking from their desk (close work) to the whiteboard and back, consistently relocating the prior material
• Moving one’s hands towards objects with consistent accuracy; poor eye-hand coordination
• Inconsistent missing of targets within sports that involve eye-hand coordination

Standard 20-20 eye exams may not reveal problems since the charts do not move. Optometrists and ophthalmologists need special behavioral training to make the connections between many learning disabilities and vision issues.

Not all children can outgrow eye tracking problems, but they can often be trained on how to cope with them. In some cases, treatment may simply be doing simple eye exercises over time to help develop the fine-muscle skills required for accurate eye tracking.

You can be sure to get the right diagnosis and treatment with the behavioral optometrist from Fort Myers Eye Associates PA. Be sure to come in as soon as possible if you or your child seems to have any of the problems referred to above.